Kilkenny tillage farmer Jim Nolan says he is still in shock after a 10ac of his 70ac field of barley was set on fire on Monday.

The fire started at 12pm just after the first few rows at the top of the field had been harvested at Barrowmount, Goresbridge, Co Kilkenny.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Nolan described how a bearing went at the bottom of the combine’s elevator, creating a spark and a fire which took hold in seconds. He said it would’ve been checked 100 times and due to a cover over the bearing, the fault wouldn’t have been spotted and that in another year, it might never have caused an issue.

Monday was an exceptionally warm day in Kilkenny providing the ideal conditions for the fire to spread.

Fire took hold

Nolan said his heart was in his mouth when they spotted the fire “when it was just a yard square” and that despite their frantic efforts, it took hold with a white heat that was “unbelievable”.

Fire brigades were on the scene within 12 minutes, says farmer Jim Nolan. \ Philip Doyle

The tillage farmer said he dialled 999 immediately and six fire brigades from Thomastown, Graiguenamanagh and Bagnelstown were there in 12 minutes. It took the fire brigades and several neighbours who rushed to the scene after seeing the flames over an hour to put out the fire.

In that time, it burned 10ac of barley including a number of acres it burned in an adjacent field after crossing a ditch.

A shaken Jim Nolan described how his neighbours came with slurry thanks of water and said that only for them, far more of the crop would have been lost. He said he was thankful for all those who helped including the fire service who he said “earned every penny”.

He said that a loader was caught up and damaged in the fire at a loss he said of about €50,000.

Advice

Nolan wished to warn other farmers of the dangers such a fire can have. While he had just finished harvesting the remaining 60ac in the large field on Wednesday, he said he’d a slurry tank filled with water and an idle tractor in the field left in the corn in case the same thing happened again.

He said that during the fire, a neighbour came with a modern disk harrow “to knock the corn and put in a fire break”.

Another had a slurry tank splash plate turned to the side which allowed water to be sprayed to cover a ditch and avoided the neighbour having to drive the tractor through the flames.

The Kilkenny man said he wanted to share these quick actions which helped put out the blaze for other farms to be aware of.